


5 Times Varrick Kissed Zhu Li and the 1 Time She Kissed Him

by bisexualnikiforov



Category: Avatar: Legend of Korra, Avatar: The Last Airbender
Genre: 5 times prompt, F/M, Five Kisses Challenge, Fluff, Kissing, Romance, varrick kisses people when he's excited
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-11-24
Updated: 2014-11-25
Packaged: 2018-02-26 19:55:59
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 6
Words: 5,669
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2664419
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/bisexualnikiforov/pseuds/bisexualnikiforov
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Varrick is the kind of person who kisses people when he's excited.  Zhu Li learns the hard way. Fluff ensues.  The following chapters will be much longer than this one.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. First Kiss

**Author's Note:**

> I don't own Varrick, Zhu Li, or Legend of Korra. If I did, Varrick and Zhu Li would already have done the thing.

“Zhu Li, I just had an excellent idea!” Varrick exclaimed. “Make a note.”

Zhu Li nodded dully and got out her notepad and a pen.

“Use moving picture technology for entertainment.”

Zhu li scribbled down what Varrick had said and put her notepad back in her pocket. She had only been working for the eccentric business for a few months now, but she had already learned to be prepared for anything at any given moment.

“What would we call these entertaining moving picture things, Zhu Li?” Varrick asked her in earnest. “Brainstorm with me.”

“Videos?” Zhu Li suggested.

“Videos?” Varrick asked her. “Where do you even get the word video from the phrase moving picture entertainment?”

“What do you suggest, Varrick?” Zhu Li replied.

“Varri-pictures!” Varrick exclaimed. “It’s ever a bad time to put your name on an innovative product.”

“I think that’s too many syllables,” Zhu Li told him.

“You’re right,” Varrick agreed. “People will be more likely to remember the name if it’s short.”

“You could just call them movers, Varrick.”

“Zhu Li, you’re brilliant!” Varrick exclaimed.

Varrick grabbed Zhu Li’s cheeks with his dark hands and kissed her hard on the mouth. Zhu Li didn’t have an opportunity to react to the kiss before Varrick pulled away blushing.

“Sir!” was all Zhu Li could say. She felt flustered and confused and was at a complete loss for how to react.

“I hope you’re not mad about that, Zhu Li,” Varrick said. “Sometimes I just get caught up in the moment and kiss people. I can’t help it. But if you’re not comfortable with that, I understand and I’ll try not to kiss you again.”

“It’s fine,” Zhu Li decided. She loved working for Varrick and she wasn’t going to let outbursts of affection on his part keep her from enjoying her job. She could handle the occasional kiss, even if it was highly unprofessional and a bit more enjoyable than it should have been coming from her boss.

Varrick grinned. “Make a note, Zhu Li. We’re going to call those motion picture entertainer things movers just like you said.”

“Alright, sir,” Zhu Li replied as she took out her notepad to write it down.

“Come on, Zhu Li. You know I prefer when you call me Varrick.”

Zhu Li nodded.


	2. A Kiss Over Evening Tea

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Varrick has noticed a change in Zhu Li's behavior, so he calls her into his room so they can talk. He ends up giving her another kiss, but maybe it wasn't so spontaneous this time.

It had been a couple of months since Varrick had kissed Zhu Li, and Zhu Li hated to admit how much it had changed their working relationship. She had started calling him sir instead of Varrick all the time and that was only when she even verbally replied to him. Most of the time she was silent. She was afraid of losing all professionalism by allowing things to remain the way they had been before the kiss.

“Zhu Li, make us some of that green tea I like,” Varrick shouted from his room. “I want to talk to you.”

Zhu Li got off the chair in the living room where she had been reading and put on a pot of tea for the two of them. She sighed, wondering what he could possibly want tea for this late at night. Surely he wasn’t still in the mood to brainstorm new ideas. And what on earth could he possibly want to talk to her about?

Moments later, she knocked on his bedroom door, holding the tea tray with one hand. Varrick opened the door for her. Zhu Li sat the tea tray down and poured a cup of tea for the both of them, making sure to put honey in Varrick’s.

“Zhu Li Zhu Li Zhu Li,” Varrick mumbled after taking a sip of his tea. “You sure know how to make green tea.”

Zhu Li nodded.

“Why don’t you sit down beside me so I can talk to you better?” Varrick suggested.

Zhu Li sat down next to him without a word.

“You know, I swear you used to talk more when I first hired you,” Varrick said.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about, sir,” Zhu Li claimed as she took a sip of her own tea.

“That’s the other thing. You keep calling me sir. I’m not sure I like that. It makes me sound like I’m your boss or something.”

“You are my boss, sir,” Zhu Li reminded him.

“Yeah, but I’m not like a serious boss. I like to think of us as being equals.”

“You’re the owner of the most successful business in the world and I’m just your assistant.”

“But you’re not just my assistant, Zhu Li. You’re so much more important than that.”

Zhu Li did her best not to let her expression betray her shock.

“I’m helpless without you, Zhu Li,” Varrick explained. “And I just want you to feel comfortable around me because I don’t know what I’d do if you decided you didn’t like me anymore and quit.”

“I feel plenty comfortable around you,” Zhu Li said.

“Zhu Li, you haven’t so much as shaken my hand in four months. You almost never engage in our brainstorming sessions anymore. I just can’t help but worrying that you don’t like your job.”

“No, I love my job,” Zhu Li insisted. “I don’t think I could find a better job in the world even if I wanted to. I just don’t want to be unprofessional or overstep my position is all.”

Varrick smiled. “I think you’ve just said more to me right now than you have in the past two weeks. I missed talking to you, Zhu Li.”

Zhu Li gave him a feeble smile.

“But you should really stop with this whole ‘professional’ nonsense,” Varrick continued. “I don’t know where you got it into your head that you needed to act professional around me. I’m the least professional person I’ve ever met. I mean look at me. I’m sitting on the floor in my pajamas having tea with my assistant who lives with me.”

“I suppose you’re right,” Zhu Li agreed. Now that she thought on it, it was rather strange to have your assistant move into the same house as you, even if it was as big and splendid a house as Varrick’s.

“Now I need to talk to you about what I really asked you to come in here for,” Varrick told her.

“And what’s that?”

“We need to figure out a way to hide from the cops. Unalaq knows I’m the one who started that rebellion and is going to throw me in jail if he finds me.”

Zhu Li glared at him.

“Now I was thinking, people are going to notice if we just run away on one of my ships. They might even try to chase us. So the best plan is to hide somewhere in the house. I was thinking we could hide in Ping-Ping until all of this blows over.”

Zhu Li’s eyes narrowed. “You want me to hide in a platypus bear with you, sir?”

Varrick grinned. “It’ll be great. And you’re so small, so there will be plenty of room. We can sort out all of the details tomorrow.”

“Alright,” Zhu Li sighed.

“Great. I knew you’d think it was a good idea.”

Varrick leaned over and kissed Zhu Li chastely on the lips. Zhu Li’s eyes were wide open in shock when he pulled away.

“I’ll see you in the morning, Zhu Li.”

“Sir, you just kissed me again,” Zhu Li said dumbly.

“Well I’ll probably be doing a lot more than kissing you in that platypus bear.”

“Sir?” Zhu Li was more than a little nervous now.

“I don’t mean like that,” Varrick backtracked. “I would never do anything to take advantage… I just mean it’s going to be tight quarters and we’ll probably be touching each other all the time by accident.”

Zhu Li sighed in relief. “Goodnight, sir,” she said as she backed out of the room. She was thoroughly embarrassed and uncomfortable, and she could see in Varrick’s red cheeks that he was as well.

She slammed the door a little too hard behind her and tried to calm down. She couldn’t believe Varrick had kissed her again, even though she knew it was bound to happen eventually. But as Zhu Li thought back on it, she couldn’t help but notice Varrick had been almost hesitant that time, as if he wasn’t sure if he was allowed to kiss her or not. But maybe Zhu Li was just reading into it.


	3. Sleepy Kisses

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Varrick and Zhu Li share a bed in prison. Both feel embarrassed by what Varrick dreams about.

Zhu Li still couldn’t believe Varrick had managed to talk her into sharing the bed with him. The first few nights in prison, she insisted that she sleep on the chair. But sleeping poorly on the chair was beginning to affect her ability to do her job. So tonight when Varrick had asked yet again why Zhu Li didn’t just sleep in the bed with him, reminding her of how comfortable and spacious the bed was, Zhu Li hardly felt like she could stand to refuse again.

The two had built a barrier between them with the extra pillows that had been on the bed. Surprisingly, it had been Varrick’s idea to have the barrier. He admitted that he was prone to cuddling whatever was closest to him when he was asleep. Zhu Li was more than happy to separate them with pillows if it meant she wouldn’t have to put up with Varrick grabbing onto her in the middle of the night. There had been more than enough unintentional closeness and intimate touches to ruin all notions of a normal working relationship when they had been in the platypus bear.

Zhu Li was embarrassed to admit even to herself that she had enjoyed how physically close she and Varrick had been in Ping-Ping. Mostly they had just bumped into each other. But every so often, Varrick would brush up against her gently or place his hand on her for just a moment before quickly taking it back.

“Zhu Li,” Varrick mumbled.

For a moment, Zhu Li thought Varrick had woken up. She peered over their pillow barrier to check on him. But Varrick was still in a deep sleep, his arms wrapped tightly around a pillow. He had simply been talking in his sleep.

“Even when he’s asleep he’s ordering me to do something,” Zhu Li muttered to herself as she laid back down.

“Need Zhu Li,” Varrick nearly whispered.

Zhu Li wondered when Varrick didn’t need her. He had been right when he said he was helpless without her. She did practically everything for him. Varrick tried to thank her in his own strange Varrick way: naming his battleship after her, offering to buy her anything that seemed to catch her attention, even naming some of his products after her. It was strange and she would have preferred verbal recognition for her hard work sometimes, but she knew by now that Varrick was incapable of such a thing.

Varrick rolled in his sleep, knocking over their pillow divider. Zhu Li huffed in annoyance when one of the pillows hit her in the face. She threw it off the bed. But now Varrick was only inches away from her.

“Varrick,” she whispered harshly, hoping to wake him. He didn’t stir. “Varrick,” she repeated.

Varrick threw his arm around her. “Zhu Li,” he mumbled again, sounding more than a little pleased.

Zhu Li was unsure of whether or not to move Varrick’s arm. The only two options seemed to be: move his arm now and have him potentially wake up embarrassed that what he’d tried to prevent had still happened or leave his arm and they both wake up in a potentially more compromising situation.

When Varrick wrapped his leg around Zhu Li, she could feel that he was hard against her. Zhu Li’s face went hot with secondhand embarrassment. She’d never expected to be in a situation that would compromise her employer’s privacy like this.

“Varrick,” Zhu Li said for the third time, much louder than before.

“Morning, gorgeous,” he mumbled groggily. But instead of untangling himself from Zhu Li, Varrick pressed himself closer to her. It became clear to Zhu Li that he wasn’t quite awake or aware.

“You need to wake up, sir,” Zhu Li said insistently.

“So sexy when you call me sir,” Varrick mumbled.

Varrick began kissing Zhu Li’s neck lazily. It was so wrong for her to enjoy her boss’s private whatever this was. But his sleepy kisses on her neck felt so good. Zhu Li snapped herself out of it. She couldn’t allow this to continue. Shaking her head, knowing how bad this could end up, she slapped Varrick.

He woke with a start. “What’s going on?” he asked, sounding a bit panicked. Zhu Li noticed that Varrick was trying to cover up his erection as nonchalantly as possible, and she decided to pretend she hadn’t noticed.

“You knocked over the pillow barrier in your sleep, sir.” Zhu Li wasn’t sure how much of this explanation she could get through without blushing. “And you sort of started trying to cuddle with me.”

Varrick’s face went bright red. “Well I told you we needed that pillow barrier for good reason.” He quickly added, “I wasn’t sleep talking, was I? Sometimes I do that.”

“Maybe I should go sleep on the chair instead,” Zhu Li suggested. “Would that make you more comfortable?”

“You’re avoiding the question,” Varrick noticed. His eyes went wide. “Whatever I said, I obviously didn’t mean. It was just a dream. I don’t have any control over that. So let’s just act like it never happened.” His last words were almost pleading.

Zhu Li nodded.

“Thanks, Zhu Li. I don’t think I could ever find an assistant better than you. Now let’s build this pillow barrier back up. And don’t slap me again. That hurt.”

Zhu Li got to work rebuilding the pillow barrier. She noticed Varrick glancing at her periodically with an expression she was unused to seeing on him. She couldn’t place what it was.

“Are you sure you want to continue sleeping in the same bed, sir?” Zhu Li asked as she got back on the bed.

“Of course,” Varrick said. “I just want you to be comfortable while we’re together, Zhu Li.”

As Zhu Li drifted to sleep, she couldn’t help but shake the notion that Varrick might have been having a sex dream about her. Tomorrow morning was going to be incredibly awkward.


	4. A Kiss Because I Love You

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Varrick hasn't been treating Zhu Li well, and she's ready to quit. She goes to find out why he's been so rude and gets an answer she didn't expect.

Varrick was right. Zaofu was the perfect place to stay after they fled their prison cell in Republic City. It was quiet and peaceful and all sorts of beautiful. And Zhu Li loved the flowing green dress Suyin had given her to wear.

Unfortunately, the beauty of Zaofu didn’t make up for how strained things had become between Varrick and Zhu Li. He was once so much more pleasant and even almost sweet to her. But now he was truly acting like her boss, and an impatient, demanding one at that. It had all gone downhill since they’d shared a bed in prison, and Zhu Li was starting to lose the love she had for her job. She wondered if things would have been better if she’d just let Varrick wake up on his own and pretended she’d never noticed anything that happened that night.

It didn’t matter. Zhu Li couldn’t stand working like this anymore. So she stood outside the door to Varrick’s bedroom, and, mustering up all the courage she could, knocked several times. She needed to confront him about his change in behavior or resign.

“Zhu Li, what are you doing here?” Varrick asked as he opened the door. “I don’t need anything right now.”

“We need to talk, sir,” Zhu Li tried to keep her voice as steady as possible as she walked past Varrick and stood by his desk with her arms folded in front of her.

“Alright,” Varrick said hesitantly. “What do you want to talk about, Zhu Li?”

“I don’t like the way you’ve been treating me lately.” Zhu Li’s voice remained firm and almost commanding although on the inside she felt terrified about confronting her boss like this.

Varrick huffed. “I don’t know what you’re talking about, Zhu Li. I’ve been treating you the way you’ve wanted me to all along: like I’m your boss.”

“Well you’re not a very nice boss to have. You’re cranky and rude and ungrateful.”

“I’m just trying to be professional for you, Zhu Li!” Zhu Li had never heard Varrick raise his voice like this before. “You stopped being friendly with me no matter how hard I tried so I finally gave up and tried it your way. So if you don’t like it, that’s your fault.”

“Well maybe if you hadn’t kissed me, I wouldn’t have stopped being so friendly,” Zhu Li shouted back.

“Maybe if you weren’t so darn attractive, I wouldn’t have wanted to kiss you! And maybe if you had kissed me back, we could have gone on a date together had a lovely time! And maybe if we were dating, I wouldn’t have been so embarrassed when I had a sex dream about you while you were in my bed! Maybe we could be kissing right now instead of arguing because I don’t know how to act around you because I have the biggest crush on you and you don’t have the slightest interest in me!”

“Maybe you should just kiss me right now then, sir, because I’m attracted to you too and I’m just better at keeping my feelings hidden than you!” Zhu Li had no idea why she was still shouting.

Varrick cupped Zhu Li’s face and kissed her with a hot passion. And this time, Zhu Li wrapped her arms around Varrick and kissed back. Varrick’s mouth, which tasted of honey green tea, was soft and eager against hers. Zhu Li nipped gently at Varrick’s bottom lip, and he inhaled sharply at the sensual sensation before doing the same to her. Although Varrick’s style of kissing was much more fervent than Zhu Li’s, she dominated the kiss. Varrick didn’t seem to mind at all.

Suddenly, Varrick pulled away. His eyes were wide as though he was shocked that he and Zhu Li had actually kissed. He rubbed the back of his neck nervously and avoided Zhu Li’s gaze. “Would you like to maybe go out for tea sometime? Not tea that you made of course. Not that there’s anything wrong with your tea. You make great tea. But maybe we could go get tea someone else made. Together.”

“Are you asking me out on a date, sir?” Zhu Li asked.

“Only if you wanted to go on a date with me. Because if you didn’t, then of course I don’t mean as a date.”

Zhu Li thought about it. “I’m not sure I want that right now,” she decided. “I’m still mad at you for treating me badly. I think that I just want to be your assistant until we work things out.”

Varrick looked heartbroken. “Okay. I can respect that.”

Zhu Li gave him a weak smile and put her hand on his shoulder. “That’s a good first step, Varrick.”

Varrick smiled back. “Someday, I’ll be the man you deserve, Zhu Li. I promise.” Varrick kissed her on the forehead. “Now go do whatever it is you do in your free time. You deserve the rest of the day off.”

“Thank you.”

As Zhu Li left Varrick’s room, her heart began to feel heavy. It hurt her to reject him, to see him look at her with such sad eyes. But she knew she had no choice or things weren’t going to get any better.


	5. Kissing to Apologize

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Zhu Li returns to Zaofu after Kuvira falls. She unleashes her anger and rage with Varrick and is met with a level of forgiveness that no one would have thought possible from him.

As the train slowed to a stop at the Zaofu station, Zhu Li saw Varrick for the first time since she had betrayed him. With Kuvira no longer in power, Zhu Li could freely return to Varrick’s side if she wanted to. But she wasn’t sure she did. He had promised her to be better to her, but little had changed. He was still taking her loyalty for granted when she left. And even after she betrayed him, he continued to hurt her by faking his own death. There was no way she could return to that after Kuvira, even in all her cold cruelty, had valued her service more than Varrick would ever know how.

Zhu Li stepped off the train and walked toward Varrick, who was deep in conversation with Bolin. Bolin grabbed Varrick’s face and swiveled it so that he was staring at Zhu Li. She had expected anger or bitterness, but instead his expression showed a kind sadness that Zhu Li was only ever used to seeing on a person’s face at funerals.

“Zhu Li,” Varrick said in a serious tone. He walked over to Zhu Li nervously.

“Varrick,” Zhu Li replied harshly. Without thinking, Zhu Li slapped Varrick hard across the face. “How could you?” Zhu Li’s face felt hot a rage she didn’t know had been inside her. “I thought you were dead!” she shouted. “I thought you went and blew yourself up!” She slapped him again. “I can’t believe you were so selfish and thoughtless. Do you have any idea what that put me through? It was unbearable. Unbearable, Varrick! Because you know what, I’m not as cold and heartless as you like think. I’m a person with the same range of emotions as you, and maybe more. Just because I don’t express my feelings all that much doesn’t mean they don’t exist.” Zhu Li felt tears of anger well up in her eyes but she dared not let them fall down her cheeks.

Varrick didn’t argue. Rather, he went down on his knees with his head bowed low. “I’m so sorry I hurt you, Zhu Li. And I’m sorry I was so horrible that you wanted to betray me. You didn’t deserve any of that. And I don’t deserve your loyalty. But I do hope that one day, if I’m a very lucky man, that I can be worthy of your forgiveness.”

Zhu Li was confused. The most stubborn, self-assured man she had ever known was down on his knees trying to make amends. Where was his grandiose spirit? His charming don’t-blame-me attitude? She’d expected a fight, not an apology.

“Get up, Varrick. You look like an idiot,” Zhu Li demanded.

Varrick got up, but his posture was still that of a humbled man.

“Aren’t you mad at me for betraying you?” she asked. And as she had the words, Zhu Li wondered why it was that she wanted him to be mad.

“I was at first,” Varrick admitted. “I felt like I couldn’t live without you. Hence the whole attempting to blow myself up thing. But then I realized I never did a thing to deserve you and that there is nothing in this world I could do to be worthy of you.”

“How do I know you’re not just saying all of this to try and win me over?” Zhu Li asked.

“I can vouch for him!” Bolin shouted from several feet away. “He didn’t shut up about how much he missed you and how bad he felt about being horrible to you. And he’s sort of becoming a good person now. Or he’s trying to anyway.”

Varrick smiled at Bolin’s words. “I still don’t expect you to believe me even with Bolin’s support,” Varrick told Zhu Li. “A few weeks of trying to become a better man doesn’t make up for all the years of crap I gave you.”

Zhu Li felt her resolve to stay angry with Varrick failing. She wanted so much to accept him back into her life. It would be so easy. But she had to stay strong, to stay angry with him, and really stand up for herself. “I can’t be your assistant anymore, Varrick.”

Varrick nodded dully. “I know.”

“You’re the rudest, most egocentric, ungrateful, hard-headed, most ridiculous man. I don’t even know why I put up with you for so long. Sometimes I just can’t stand you. Sometimes I even hate you.” And then Zhu Li understood that this wasn’t just a righteous, calculated anger at someone who did her wrong. “And the horrible, horrible truth is,” Zhu Li added, calmly and quietly so that only Varrick would hear her, “that even though I think all of these terrible things about you, I love you anyway.”

Varrick’s eyes widened. “Zhu Li, if I kiss you right now in front of everyone at the station, are you going to slap me again?”

“No,” Zhu Li promised.

“Good, because you are really strong. I am definitely going to have a giant bruise on my face later.”

Zhu Li glared at him.

“I am ruining the moment, aren’t I? Well, I guess I better stop talking nonsense and tell you that I love you more than I ever thought I could love another person. And that was really hard to say so please don’t expect me to say it often. You might need to just assume it sometimes.”

Zhu Li’s glare deepened.

“Oh, right. I am probably ruining the moment again.” Varrick tried to dip Zhu Li down for a romantic kiss, but he accidentally overdid it and the two of them fell on the ground with Varrick on top of Zhu Li. “This’ll have to do.” Varrick propped himself up on his forearms and kissed Zhu Li deeply. It was neither passionate nor hesitant, just pleasantly somewhere in between.

“You can’t make out with your assistant right outside of a train station,” Bolin interrupted, clearly uncomfortable.

Varrick stopped kissing Zhu Li. “She’s not my assistant anymore. She quit.”

“We probably should stop kissing, though, Varrick,” Zhu Li suggested. “It’s a bit inappropriate and people are staring at us.”

“Come on, this isn’t even the most compromising situation we’ve ever been in,” Varrick reminded her. “Remember prison?”

Zhu Li glared at Varrick. “I try not to.”

“Oh alright.” Varrick and Zhu Li got to their feet and brushed themselves off. “There’ll be plenty more where that came from,” Varrick told Zhu Li in his most suggestive voice.

“We’ll see about that. You still need to work on not being a huge jerk.”

“Yeah, but you’re one heck of a motivator.” Varrick attempted to put his arm around Zhu Li’s waist. “Maybe we can set up some sort of kisses as rewards system.”

“And maybe once you’ve made more progress, you’ll get more than just kisses as a reward.”

“I like the new, sexy Zhu Li who bribes me into being a better person.”


	6. To Kiss Because of Tradition

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Zhu Li knows next to nothing about Varrick's culture. Varrick is dismayed and decided to teach her.

Zhu Li read quietly in the bedroom wearing her pajamas. Unfortunately, whatever Varrick had been working on in his office (Zhu Li insisted he couldn’t use their bedroom as an office anymore after Varrick nearly set fire to the nightstand doing spirits knows what) was incredibly loud, and Zhu Li kept hearing banging noises and disgruntled muttering through the wall, preventing her from focusing on her book. Whatever Varrick was working on must be important. He hadn’t come to bed until late the past two nights and he refused to tell Zhu Li about it, claiming it wasn’t ready yet.

Zhu Li knocked on the wall between their bedroom and Varrick’s office. “Are you okay in there?” she asked.

“I’m fine,” Varrick said, but the strain in his voice told Zhu Li otherwise.

“Are you sure you don’t want my help with this new project of yours?”

“Of course I’m sure. You’re not my assistant anymore, remember?”

It had been two and a half years since Zhu Li officially quit working for Varrick as his assistant. However, she continued to help Varrick with his various projects, and eventually he asked her to take the title of vice president of his company. She mostly brainstormed with Varrick and took notes, but, as they quickly realized she had more sense than Varrick when it came to finances, she took that over as well.

The transition had been far from easy. Sometimes it was a nightmare. But as time went on, Varrick got better at being polite and Zhu Li got better at putting her foot down when Varrick was too demanding.

Varrick opened the door to their bedroom with a grin. He was dressed up in the blue clothes he used to wear when they were still in the southern water tribe. Zhu Li had almost forgotten how well the color blue suited Varrick. “How much do you know about the water tribe?” he asked as he sat down next to Zhu Li on the bed.

Zhu Li closed her book and placed it in her lap. “Not much.”

“Come on, Zhu Li. We lived there together for over a year. I thought you might have picked up on a few things.”

“I was in the water tribe for business, not for a cultural lesson.”

Varrick thought for a moment. “Well what do you know about traditions?”

“Water tribe traditions?”

“Of course water tribe traditions!”

“I remember that Glacier Spirits Festival we went to. That was sort of traditional.”

“Is that all?”

“I didn’t grow up in the water tribe like you. So yes, that’s it.”

“Well were there any traditions that were important in your family?”

“I wasn’t raised in a traditional household. What’s with you and traditions and culture tonight anyway? Is it something about your new project?”

“Sort of,” Varrick admitted. “But that’s not the point. You should really learn more about my culture, Zhu Li. I know I’m not the closest to my heritage, but there are certain things I still hold dear and I want us to share them.”

Zhu Li sighed. “Can’t you wait until the morning to share them with me?”

“No, it can’t wait that long,” Varrick insisted. “I’ve already convinced myself that it has to be now and you know how hard it is to make me change my mind when it’s already set on something.”

“Fine. What’s so important about this water tribe lesson that it can’t wait until morning?”

Varrick looked nervous. “It’s more of a demonstration, really. I need you to get out of bed and stand up.”

Zhu Li rolled her eyes. “Okay.” She got up and stood against the wall. “Is this okay or do I need to put on nice clothes too?”

“No, no. You look great.”

Zhu Li pursed her lips. “So what do I have to do now?”

“I’m not really sure,” Varrick confessed. “I guess you can do whatever you’d like as long as you’re standing up and comfortable.”

Zhu Li nodded.

Varrick got off the bed and stood in front of Zhu Li. He looked terrified. All the color had drained from his face. He ran his hands through his hair anxiously and straightened out his clothes. Zhu Li didn’t understand why he was acting so strange. Well, stranger than he usually acted.

“Why we do we have to be standing up for this?” Zhu Li asked.

“Because it’s tradition! Keep up, Zhu Li.” Varrick patted his pockets frantically for a moment and then stopped. “Would you do me a favor and close your eyes for a moment?”

Zhu Li complied.

After a moment, Varrick said, “You can open your eyes.” He was kneeling down on the floor with his hands behind his back. Varrick opened his hands and displayed a beautiful hand-carved necklace. The pale blue pendant was circular in shape with a crescent moon on the left side and stars on the right. It hung onto dark blue fabric just small enough to wrap around Zhu Li’s neck.

“That’s a beautiful necklace,” Zhu Li told him. “Thank you.”

“Zhu Li, it’s not just a necklace,” Varrick said, sounding a bit exasperated. “It’s a betrothal necklace. It’s a water tribe tradition for a man to carve a betrothal necklace for the woman he loves and present it to her when he asks for her hand in marriage.”

“Oh.” Zhu Li was shocked to say the least. She hadn’t expected a proposal from Varrick, well, ever. She had assumed they would simply have a life of domestic partnership.

“So what’s your answer?” Varrick asked.

“Yes.”

“Seriously?”

“Of course.”

Varrick hurried back onto his feet. “Turn around so I can put the necklace on you.” Zhu Li did as Varrick asked. His hands brushed her hair out of the way as he wrapped the necklace around her neck and fastened it. “Now turn around. I want to see it on you.”

Zhu Li turned around. Varrick gazed at her with giddiness and love, a goofy grin stretching across his face. “How does it look on me?” Zhu Li asked.

“You look amazing,” Varrick told her. “Are you still sure? Because I know I’m still not good enough for you. I don’t know if I ever will be. You deserve the best man in the world.”

“Stop talking, Varrick.”

“But that doesn’t answer my question.” Zhu Li kissed him and pushed him onto the bed. “Oh,” he said dumbly. “I’m going to take that as a yes.”

Zhu Li rolled her eyes. “Did I not just tell you to stop talking?”

“You know I can’t stop talking when I’m nervous. You’re going to have to cover my mouth or something.”

Zhu Li pressed her lips against Varrick’s before he had a chance to open his mouth again. His arms wrapped around Zhu Li’s waist, pulling her whole weight on top of him. “Are you done rambling now?” Zhu Li asked.

Varrick grinned. “I don’t think I’ll ever be done rambling. You’ve made me the happiest man in the world. I’ll never stop talking about it.”

Zhu Li smirked. “Well if you promise to shut up right now, I can make you an even happier man.”

“I don’t think that’s possible,” Varrick told her. But then he understood. “Oh okay. I’m shutting up now.”

“Varrick, let’s do the thing.”

And Zhu Li’s lips returned to Varrick’s.


End file.
